“Astrology is a storytelling matrix for finding meaning, understanding relationships, and making decisions. It is both rational and not, like us.”
- Consulting Astrologer since 1971
- B.A. in Psychology, Sonoma State University, California
- M.S. Ed. in Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College, N.Y.
- Studied at the Centre for Psychological Astrology, Regent’s Park College, London
- Certified Astrologer, National Council of Geocosmic Research
- Teacher, Artist, Grandmother, Concerned Citizen, Cook & Gardener
What got me interested in astrology?
As a Philosophy undergraduate, I was interested in almost anything that might make sense of the world and our experience of it. Student years in Boston in the latter half of the ‘60’s were a series of extraordinary events and unexpected encounters. Participate, or sit it out? Politics was in the streets, definitely; art and wisdom to be pursued, and music part of everything. In class we were training the mind, but the rest of the time, looking for magic. Ghosts of the old spiritualists still sparked here and there, but you had to find those you were meant to meet. No maps.
Three friends, young men of very different backgrounds and temperament, surprised me by revealing their initial forays into astrological study. I thought that silly, intellectually, until the pointed rejoinder, “You dismiss astrology not based on knowledge, but on prejudice.” struck home. I accepted the challenge to learn sufficient astrology for an informed debate, confident of a thoroughly educated debunking that was sure to follow. The Universe had the last laugh here: the more I read the books, found the lectures, discovered the history – the less, I realized, I knew; the more there was to be learned; the more it shouldn’t have made sense, the more it did. I have been a student of astrology ever since.
By good fortune, in this early ambivalent and skeptical period I attended a lecture by eminent astrologer Dane Rudhyar at Boston’s Museum of Science, May 1973. Rudhyar spoke at length to a surprisingly full auditorium on “Astrological Prospects for the last Quarter Century.” The audience, it appeared, closely followed Rudhyar’s critique of political, cultural and philosophical issues from the perspective of planetary movements and meaning. Heads nodded affirmatively; people in that room clearly knew something that I did not. Cue: further enquiry.
When did I get my first reading?
The first ‘reading’ of my birth chart was hand drawn with brief interpretive notes written on the backside of a flyer calling for a demonstration against the War (Vietnam) on Boston Common. This chart, circa 1970, was the opening shot in the veracity of astrology debate. Its portrait of me was intriguing, even flattering, and also easily discounted as its author had known me since 6th grade. What would a stranger well versed in the art have to say?
Finding books, in particular the Ephemerides, Tables of Houses and Time Changes necessary to calculate horoscopes, wasn’t easy. Then you either you did the math yourself, or prevailed upon someone who could and was willing to take the time; either way, for the math you had to have the books. No calculation services, no computer software; no computers. Esoteric bookshops were few and sparse, their print offerings often obscure and spiritually judgmental. Tracking down an actual astrologer was even more difficult.
It took nearly five years until I had my first professional reading, in Portland, Maine with Wendy Ashley, teacher and interpreter in the Mythic and Archaeoastronomy stream. Her broad knowledge, vivid synthesis and cascading laugh were inspiring. Returning to the counterculture wilds of Waldo County my good friend and astrological partner Katherine Ewing and I spent endless hours with charts of family and friends who, conveniently for us, were forever falling in and out of love, and needing some way to make sense of it all. They trekked up the Hill to hear what the stars had to say. We began to hold classes.
What type of astrological readings do I do?
An astrologer in the Western Tradition, I am informed both by Archetypal Psychology and by Astrosophy, which arises from the work of Rudolf Steiner. I am open to other streams and practices because I believe astrology is an old and living art that must stay awake to the present to have a role in the future.
What do I do when I’m are not doing readings?
When not doing astrology, I read widely, write letters, draw, cook, garden, knit, felt or sew and practice yoga. Blessed with sustained friendships and a lively family. I am an active Grandparent of three young grandchildren. During the pandemic I was their home school teacher.
What do I want people to know about me?
That I learn something new from every chart I do.
Phyllis Hill Astrology 